Fast Forward Destiny
by TheImpossiblePen
Summary: The Prophesies just aren't materializing fast enough for some people. Let's see what a little magic and careful planning can do to hurry things along... As I had mentioned in the Past Jugement Outtakes, I had plans to remove Chapter 29 and post it as it's own short(ish) sidestory. So, let's carry on! Note: Takes place in the Past Judgement universe.
1. Chapter 1

**I had mentioned earlier in the Past Judgement Outtakes set that I might remove Chapter 29 and post it as its own short story (or something like that. I get a bit wordy at times... :D), so here it is. I'll be renaming the story later on, but I just haven't decided on a title yet. Suggestions are welcome, btw. Just putting it out there.**

**For those of you who enjoyed Past Judgement, here's a little something else to carry on with, just a little side-story. I'm taking a cue from the sci-fi shows that I've grown to love and making possible the IMPOSSIBLE! LOL I hope you enjoy this installment.**

**Sincerely, and thanking you HEAPS for your support and encouragement,**

**TheImpossiblePen**

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**Chapter 1**

"O-M-G!" Kelly stormed into Gaius' chambers, slammed the heavy chamber door shut, and stopped dead in the middle of the room. She struck a no-nonsense pose, a finger up for emphasis. "If I hear one more lame-ass joke about my—and I quote-'very rounded shape', somebody is _gonna _die." She pointed to the floor, meeting all three surprised gazes with marked ferocity. "Today. Just sayin'."

"So good to see you, too, My Lady," Gaius greeted with an exaggerated smile. He walked past the Future Queen of Camelot and gripped her shoulders in passing. He paused and tilted his head as he examined her seven-months-pregnant form. She was still a small woman, perhaps a bit too thin for his liking, but her stomach made up for it! He thought this with a snicker and received a scathing glare.

Thoroughly vexed, Kelly shook her head as she searched the cupboard for her hospital ID tag. Dressed in a grey two-piece suit and white scoop-necked blouse with fashionable, coordinated low heels (heels for God's sake! Really?) she quickly threw the plastic tag into the black handbag she'd set on Gaius' workbench. She had a meeting at two o'clock, and to go in such a bitchy mood really had her simmering.

She pointed sharply to her husband. "Gwaine is an ass. If he so much as looks at me the wrong way, I'm gonna deck him. He's a crude, snarky sonofabitch..." Still seething, she found her keys and spun on her heel, going toward the mirror. Barely looking up as she turned on her smart phone, she muttered, "Merlin, could you please?" She gestured to the mirror.

"Uh..." The manservant glanced at Arthur, his eyes widening in alarm as he turned his gaze back to this rambling crazy woman in Gaius' chambers. "I, uh..."

Kelly's head shot up and she glared at her friend. "Seriously, now's good! I don't have time to play around! If I'm not there by one-thirty, Dr. Tate, that sneaky jerk, is going to snag my parking spot again, and I'm going to have to walk three blocks from the east parkade," she snapped. "I'm seven months pregnant; I don't like the idea of walking three blocks in downtown Santa Monica even on a GOOD day."

Gaius sighed in defeat, gesturing to the boys to sit themselves down. "My Lady, allow me," he offered politely. Gaius activated the portal rather efficiently, and swept his arm toward the mirror in invitation. "Shall I leave the portal open for you?"

Kelly stopped and heaved a deep breath, standing easily half a foot shorter than the old man. She managed a smile, nodding. "Thanks, Gaius. I'll text you later to give you an idea when I'm headed back." She paused in thought, adding, "We really ought to move the portal entry to the hospital parkade. Do you have any idea how much we'd save on parking? And never having to fight for a spot again?" She spun and pointed her keys at her husband. "Don't forget Alex's play date with Aidan, okay? They're all hyped about you taking them fishing today. I barely saw them for ten seconds in the corridor, and already they're goin' on about how they have their fishing poles, et cetera..." She smiled, "You promised them; this is _your_ doing. I promised _nothing_."

Gaping like a fish fighting for air, Arthur said dumbly, "Alex...I-I'm sorry, I-" He was utterly confused. Who was this woman? Why did she speak to him like she knew him on a familiar level? And 'Alex'? Who on earth-

Gaius jumped in to save the situation. "Ah, he'll do just that, My Lady. Forgive Arthur's absentminded state. He, uh, fell off his horse this morning during the hunt." Gaius forced a grimace, stating sharply, "Nasty concussion. He may seem 'not all there' for the next few days. Bed rest should correct the situation."

Kelly narrowed her eyes on her husband, spreading her hands in question. "You take a dive off Aldieb and you don't even _tell_ me," she stated in disbelief and irritation. "Hi, I'm your wife! Remember that 'doctor' designation of mine?" She pursed her lips in agitation and asked, "Merlin, would you mind taking the kids out fishing today? They're really looking forward to it..." She sent the warlock her pleading gaze, her hazel eyes wide.

"Uh..." Merlin nodded dumbly. "Y-Yeah, of course. But my duties-" Apparently she respected him, asking instead of ordering him about. He liked her already!

-Kelly grinned wickedly. "Send George up to tend to Arthur!" Merlin shot her a glance of utter disbelief. "No, really. You're getting paid to babysit and have some fun today, and Arthur will have dependable, chatty, brass-fixated George to keep him company. It's all good." She waved her hand dismissively. Oh, she was well aware of Arthur's dislike for the boot-licking servant, George. She had heard _all_ the stories...

Moments later, the diminutive woman literally stepped into the mirror and out of sight, and Gaius behaved as if this was normal, leaving both the temporally displaced Merlin and Arthur with looks of bewilderment and shock written all across their faces.

Arthur spoke first. His arm flying out toward the portal, he shouted, "WOULD SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE FIVE KINGDOMS IS GOING ON HERE?!" He shot Merlin a look of question, crossing his arm. "My supposed _wife _seems familiar with you, too. Should I be concerned, _Mer_lin?"

Merlin opened his mouth a few times and finally managed to sputter, "N-No! Look, I don't know her either, Arthur, so I don't-"

-"ENOUGH!" Gaius' cool demeanour faded, and he raised his 'eyebrow of doom' at both the boys. He gestured to his dining table. "Both of you, sit. We must figure out what has happened."

Once seated, they all stared at the flickering candle flame for a time before anyone spoke.

Merlin grinned behind his hand, directing his mirth-filled gaze to the Future King of Camelot. "You've certainly married a strong woman, Arthur. Bet you're having fun, what with the crazy state that pregnancy puts women into. And I think I counted at least three mood swings in the space of two minutes! Impressive."

Gaius laughed, sitting back. He nodded and crooked his eyebrow again. "Indeed. Kelly was always a wild card, but pregnancy seems to really highlight that quality." He turned his gaze to the Prince Regent. "Sire, are you all right?"

Arthur sat with hands clasped in front of his face, his eyes on the flame. "No." He caught their alarmed glances and sat upright. "I just met my wife today, and I have no idea who she is, and she's having my child-"

-"Second child, Sire," Gaius interrupted quietly. "Alexandra is six years old. She's your heir."

Merlin burst out laughing then, unable to maintain his composure any longer. He laughed until tears streamed down his face.

Arthur's hands fell to the table in astonishment, and he shot a reprimanding glare at his servant before settling his gaze on Gaius' overly amused face. "I have one child already?" Gaius nodded. "Gaius, tell me what happened before Merlin and I came in to see you," he commanded sharply, fatigue evident in his voice.

Gaius thought a moment and shrugged. "The entire castle shook a bit with tremors. There were no injuries, so we assumed it was nothing but a mild earthquake. But I fear now..." Gaius frowned in thought. "I fear that your future selves are wandering about in another place and time—or perhaps an alternate reality—and that you two are stuck here...in your present roles. Nobody else seems to be affected."

Arthur nodded. "Sorcery?"

Merlin shrugged, meeting Gaius' contemplative gaze. "Perhaps, to rid the world of an informed Arthur?" Gaius nodded in agreement. "But why would I have been replaced as well, Gaius?"

"Happenstance. Wrong place and time, Merlin, my boy..." Gaius sighed and spread his hands in question.

"What do we do?" Arthur stood and began to pace, his arms crossed over his chest as his eyes followed the floorboards.

"Behave as if you are in fact the Arthur we all know," Gaius suggested calmly. Merlin and I will attempt to resolve this issue."

"Merlin? He's nothing but a servant, Gaius!"

"That's the other issue..."

~.~.~

"You're a sorcerer-"

"Warlock," Merlin corrected softly, aware of his master's scathing glares as they strode down the corridor. "Clearly I told you at some point, for magic to be accepted again, Arthur. You must know I meant no harm-"

-Arthur spun and drove a forearm into his servant's throat, barring him against the wall. The Prince's eyes were darkened in a state of fury. "How do I know _you_ aren't responsible for this mess, Merlin?" he hissed. "Perhaps all these years at my side has prompted you to ship us off to a more 'accepting' Camelot? Perhaps you wished to escape the death sentence!"

Merlin fought for air and pulled fruitlessly at Arthur's strong forearm. "Arttttur," he gurgled, trying desperately to draw breath. "Plss," he implored. His master let up a bit, though he was not released. "Please—I never would have done this," he gasped. "I was waiting for the right time to tell you—I wanted to be sure you could handle it!"

"Handle it? Handle it!" Arthur drew a fist back and prepared to strike the man before him. "I have had a sorcerer for a servant for five bloody years, Merlin! How exactly should I handle such a breech of trust?!"

Before Arthur could throw his fist, a strong set of arms hauled him back, and voices erupted all round them. "Let me go! I'm going to kill him! He's been lying all these years-"

-"Sire, we all know," Leon soothed his Prince, maintaining his grip. "Really. It's all right. We know of Merlin's magic. He's a good man, Sire. He means you no harm." Seriously worried for the Prince-Regent's mental state, he motioned for Percival to take over. Percival gladly stepped forth and walked off with Merlin.

Merlin nodded when Percival asked if he was all right. Unused to such protective measures, he thanked the large Knight.

Percival walked Merlin into the youngest Pendragon's room, closing the door after them. "What happened back there? Why is Arthur behaving so strangely?"

Merlin recalled Gaius' made-up story earlier. "Hunting. He, uh, fell off Aldieb while we were out this morning," he supplied with a shake of his head. He tried to appear nonchalant about the whole thing, managing to snort in disbelief. "Too preoccupied with showing off his superior riding skills, you see."

Percival chuckled, nodding. "Indeed..."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Merlin flipped through Gaius' books of spells, his head resting on his hand as he stared nearly cross-eyed at the scripted text, hoping that the answer would quite literally jump right out at him. There seemed to be no spell to explain his and Arthur's current circumstance, and his frustration was beginning to mount.

Gaius set a cup of tea before his ward and seated himself on the opposite side of the workbench. Heaving a weary sigh, he resumed his search. Glancing up at the warlock, he muttered, "There must be something to explain all of this…Have you found nothing?"

"No. Nothing." Merlin growled in annoyance and slid the book away. He leaped to his feet and began pacing the floor.

Gaius raised his head in thought and said, "If there is no spell, perhaps we should be looking for a chain of events from which to draw the answer…" He got a confused look from Merlin. "You were 'exchanged' for a reason, Merlin. Someone felt it necessary to displace you and Arthur."

Merlin's eyes darted about in thought, and he stated, "Morgana, perhaps?"

Gaius shook his head. "No, she's no longer a threat. You killed her." He caught the astonishment that flitted across the warlock's face.

"What—How?" Merlin stared at Gaius, his eyes wide and unblinking for a long moment. Pain crossed his features when Merlin realized that his hopes for Morgana's change of heart were for naught, that she had given herself over to evil completely. He had thought she had such potential…

Gaius sighed and met his ward's disbelieving gaze. "You had a little help, but in her final attempt to take the throne you engaged her in battle. In front of Uther, no less, but you saved the kingdom." Gaius waved his hand dismissively. "Your magic was accepted, so long as you kept it secret. Uther didn't like it, but he realized what he stood to lose if he were to execute you…Now, who else-"

-"Her past self is alive and well," Merlin stated emphatically, leaning on the tabletop. "Gaius, it is very likely Morgana saw her own death and sought to change destiny's path. She might have sent herself forward to change the course of events." He frowned in thought. "I suspect that we were not part of the plan."

Gaius paused to consider this and nodded slowly. "Whether your displacement was accidental or not," he said carefully, meeting Merlin's alert gaze, "We must find Morgana and send all of you back to where you belong. Hopefully, in doing that, we'll return your 'other' selves to the present."

Merlin nodded, glancing over at the hearth where Gaius' stew was cooking. "What would she hope to accomplish by disrupting the future?"

"The fulfilment of prophesies, I presume," Gaius suggested grimly. "We must find her. I doubt we have much time."

~.~.~

It was an age before Arthur looked up from the books spread across his desk. He had been researching his current life, trying to understand who his 'other' self was. He poured over several picture books, books of amazing likenesses of everyone he knew, and more than a few of those he had yet to meet. He had been too engrossed to hear the door open and shut, but he raised his head to see his servant setting the dining table with three dinner trays.

"What hour is it, Merlin?" Arthur shut the book, rising to stretch. Gods, how much time had passed?

Merlin looked over as he laid out the Prince's….ER, King's nightclothes. "Half past six," he answered, turning down the covers. "Alexandra should be here momentarily. She's walking Aidan out." He got a blank look and then watched Arthur's eyes widen in understanding. "Yes, you know; your daughter?" Merlin bit back a laugh at the look on Arthur's face. "What have you found, Sire?"

Arthur neatly stacked the books and frowned at the pile, leaning on his desk. "More questions than answers," he muttered. "There is so much I don't understand." He paused and watched his servant work diligently at laying out his armour for the morning. "Have you and Gaius found anything?"

Merlin sighed and crossed his arms. "No, not yet. We are entertaining a few theories at present, but we have no conclusions." He shook his head. "We'll fix this, Arthur, I swear it," he promised solemnly.

Arthur nodded, grief etched across his face. "Guinevere…"

"She'll be fine," Merlin assured him. "If anything, she's probably wondering why you are behaving so strangely...in our own world, that is."

Arthur nodded, moving to sit before his meal. The cook had prepared a sort of glazed ham accompanied by potatoes and a rather large serving of salad in a side dish.

The door opened and a small blond child stepped in, Sir Leon right behind her. "Sire," he greeted. "How are you feeling?"

"Daddy!" The little blond bullet raced around furniture obstacles and launched herself straight at her father for a hug. He caught her up easily enough, taking a moment to smooth her blond curls. He stared down at the child, shock and amazement still dominating his responses. Dressed strangely, wearing some kind of blue trousers and a very girly pink tunic, she hardly looked the part of a Princess. But he could not deny the resemblance between himself and this child, other than the fact that her hair had a very striking strawberry tint to it.

Arthur turned his gaze upward to Leon, and it took him a moment to recall his earlier story, about falling off his horse that day. He set the child back to her feet again and straightened. "Ah. Yes, better," he said with a forced smile. "Thank you." He glanced behind Leon. "And…where is your Queen? Has she not returned?" Arthur tried to school his expression into one of neutrality.

He thought of his first run-in with the woman that his future self had married brought a slight blush to his cheeks. Her beauty had found him speechless in her presence—though she was nothing at all like his beloved Guinevere!—and her quickly changing moods had been amusing and startling all at once. Arthur was conflicted about whether he ought to be laughing his head off or yelling in frustration. The fact that she was so late to term in carrying another of his children...His head spun at the very idea. Arthur was all at once amazed, confused, scared out of his mind, and ridiculously intrigued by his current set of circumstances. He was stuck in this place, he was supposed to be King, and he had been instructed to appear as 'normal' as he could be, but it was all so difficult. The newness of everything was mind-boggling.

Leon had been about to speak when the aforementioned woman stepped into the room. The large knight gestured grandly. "See?" He turned with a frown at the woman. "How do you do that? Your timing-"

-"Is awesome, I know." Kelly flashed the knight a bright smile as she hung up her jacket. She wore hospital-issue blue surgical scrubs in place of the clothing she'd originally left in that morning. "Actually, I saw you and Alex heading up here, but I didn't want to run to catch up, so I just made an entrance, instead!" She patted Leon's arm in passing. "Makes you look good!"

Kelly caught her daughter from behind and hugged the giggling child. "Got any tall tales for me?"

"Fish tales!" Alexandra erupted into peals of laughter when her mother tickled her ribs. "We had fun." Alexandra looked up from the confines of her mother's arms. "Did you get to have any fun, Momma?"

Kelly kissed the top of Alexandra's head and released the child. "Nah, Momma had to deal with a bunch of blowhards today, and then I worked a few hours in the Emergency Room." She smiled. "I should've gone fishing _with _you!"

Alexandra gave her mother a chastising look. "You're a doctor, Momma. People need you. It's your 'sponsi…'sponsi…bility." She hurried to sit down at the table and picked up a fork, gently stabbing at the sliced potatoes on her plate. She took a bite and looked over at her father "Right, Daddy?"

Arthur paused mid-bite and nodded. Swallowing quickly, he raised his eyes to look at the woman in his midst, his face going scarlet when she met his gaze. He was supposed to be married to her, not getting all out-of-sorts in her presence... He inwardly kicked himself for allowing his facade to drop. "Ah, ab-absolutely," he choked. He smiled tightly, knowing damned well that it didn't reach his eyes. He watched as the oddly dressed woman began to eat as well. "Some might argue that a Queen has no business working a commoner's position..."

Kelly straightened in her seat and met her husband's eyes. She found it odd that Arthur was going all kinds of shades of red...High blood pressure, maybe? Dismissing her observation, she asked, "Are you really going there? 'Cause I can fight about this all day and win." When he snapped his mouth shut, looking thoroughly chastised, she laughed. "Aw, see, Daddy _does _know who he married!"

Arthur drank from his goblet and narrowed his eyes on the pristine white bandage that adorned Kelly's forearm. It just barely peaked out from under the Queen's long-sleeved tunic. "What's that?" He blinked at her in question. He was trying to remain polite, but this recent discovery had him a bit worried. He was responsible for this woman while his 'other self' was adrift...somewhere.

"What's what?" Kelly looked down to where the King had fixed his gaze. "Oh, that. " She shook her head, waving her other hand dismissively. "Just a little incident in the ER. Nothing I couldn't handle," she assured him.

Arthur reached for the arm without preamble. "Is it serious?"

Kelly rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Nah, no big deal," she assured her husband with a shake of her head. "It's stitched up, it's fine." Kelly narrowed her eyes at her husband in confusion. Since when did Arthur go all 'caveman' on her? Okay, he did….occasionally…but this was a touch out of character. "Need I remind you that my career has plenty of built-in hazards?" She smiled, raising an eyebrow in question.

Arthur closed his eyes and rubbed at the bridge of his nose for a moment before looking at the Queen. Unable to think of any logical way to respond, he smiled and said, "Welcome home."

Kelly nodded, still smiling. "Thank you," she drawled. "Good to be back. How's your head?"

Arthur found it difficult to keep his smile from reappearing, and he met soft hazel eyes. "It is starting to ache more than it did all _day," _he stated honestly.

"Ah." Kelly nodded. "Yeah, you sound like you're kind of normal, now."

Arthur stared at the Queen for a long moment, unsure what was to be said to that. . She was easily more frustrating than his manservant. Instead of taking the bait, he drank his mead and tried to force himself back into character. What would King Arthur say? He sighed heavily and turned his gaze to the child. "Alexandra, how was your day?"

Alexandra beamed up at her father and nodded. "Awesome! I got to teach Aidan how to swim, we caught frogs, an' we found those cute little crabs, too! I really wanted to take one home, but Merlin said they'd just die on the way." She wrinkled her nose in distaste and shook her head. "Not a great idea, so we left 'em there." She turned to look at her mother in question. "Can you come with me tomorrow, Momma? Help me take some home?"

Kelly looked between Alexandra and her father. "I've got a better idea. Grandpa's going through 'Alex' withdrawal." She wrinkled her nose in mock-sympathy. "Do you want to go see him for the day?"

"YEAH!" Alexandra quickly finished eating and leaped up to leave the room. "Gotta go pack!"

Arthur stared after the child's quick departure. His brow wrinkled with confusion, he shook his head and smiled over at his wife. "Excitable creature, isn't she?"

Kelly laughed, setting her own cup down. "Hurricane Alex," she said softly, with a huge smile. She pointed, adding, "And she's YOUR daughter, Arthur Pendragon. All traces of weirdness run RIGHT back to you." She caught his disbelieving gaze. "What? We Andersons are flawless," she said with an innocent expression.

Arthur saw it, then. He knew what his other self would have fallen in love with; she was sharp, quick-witted, and too smart for her own good. There was a boldness he was quite unaccustomed to, and an air of self-assurance that few women (if any) possessed. She was of strong character, like his Guinevere. Just smaller, with long auburn hair, and she spoke with that odd accent. He was drawn to the sound of her voice with all of its different inflections, all at once intrigued and entertained by the strange things she spoke of. She spoke as though his other self knew of these things, so he pretended to understand, nodding where it seemed appropriate.

~.~.~

The lone figure stood under cover of the trees that outlined the beginning of the Darkling Woods just outside Camelot's fortress walls, her lips pressed together in deep thought. Her black cloak fluttered in the night's cooling breeze, the deep hood shadowing her pale, beautiful face. Her moss green eyes watched as Camelot slowly slid from twilight and into darkness, as firelight died both within and outside of the castle.

Morgana Pendragon shivered as the wind wound its way beneath her dress. She crossed her arms and continued to stand in silence, staring at the fortress that she had once called home. Memories of being cast out, of floundering on her own, sent shards of bitterness into the pit of her stomach. _They would pay_, she vowed. They would all pay for denying her the kingdom that was rightfully hers. If she could not have Camelot, she would see its ruler destroyed.

_The Prophesy must come to pass_, she thought anxiously. And in this place, where the mighty Arthur Pendragon was King, Morgana would make certain that he saw his end. But first, she had to find the other component in order to fulfill the Prophesy; Mordred. The druid boy was meant to take Arthur's life in battle. Morgana sighed, frustrated. Even in her visions, Emrys remained a mystery. She did not know who Emrys was, or how close he was to the King of Camelot, but she had to be rid of him. He stood in the way, protecting the King. He was to be Morgana's 'destiny' as well as her doom. Those words sent a tendril of dread racing up the High Priestess' spine.

Walking back to her campsite, Morgana set fire to the twigs and leaves in the makeshift fire pit. "Forbearne!" she hissed, her hand outstretched and her eyes glowing gold, and the embers began to dance and glow in the darkness.

**A/N:**

**AAAnd, there it is, folks! I apologize for my inconsistent updates. I'm trying to get back into writing again, it's taking a little oomph that I just don't have some nights! :) I appreciate the reviews, the faves, the follows...All of it! Your input is very important to me, so please do leave a word or two. Reviews make my day!**

**Hey, Lady Proemess, thanks again for being my second set of critical eyes. It is REALLY, REALLY appreciated, more than you know! *hug* Thank you!**

**Happy Spring Break to my Alberta friends! :D Now, let's just dump this insane 30 cm snow dump and find some place tropical...*le sigh* C'est la vie... :)**


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